Bedmates Soulmates

At The Analogue.

Left to herself, Kira would not have picked such a swanky bar.

The sculptural countertop, the hand-painted wallpaper, the African ebony herringbone floors....

Even the air here smelled expensive.

But Giana talked her into coming here.

"You only live once,"she.said.

Thinking about her new job and her soon-to-be-fattened wallet, Kira agreed.

A little indulgence now and then couldn't hurt.

Giana ordered a Negroni,

Kira stuck to her usual Kingway beer,

She regaled her best friend with her adventures of the day.

Glana gave a thumbs-up when Kira mentioned the Good Samaritan with a heart of gold and the face of Apollo. 'Chivalry is not dead, after all,"

Kira concurred. 'He wouldn't have ended up in the emergency room if it weren't for me. I feel responsible."

'Not your fault, Giana patted her friend on the shoulder. You didn't stab him. The mugger did. But if you really feel bad about it, you can invite him to dinner sometime. Nothing says you're sorry better than a five- course meal

"You're right. I should research on restaurants. I wonder what kind of food he likes." Kira belched after downing her first bottle of beer. "Excuse me."

"What did the police say?

"Say what?"

"Did they catch the mugger?"

'Um...

"Kira?"

Kira scratched her cheek. I forgot to call the police.'

""You what?"

"I forgot, Kira with an apologetic shrug. "I was so caught up in getting my saviour to the hospital, I just forgot all about the mugger. And about calling the police." Giana poked her friend with a finger. 'Scatterbrain. The mugger got lucky. If I were there, I would've

knocked his teeth out!"

Kira knew Giana wasn't joking.

Her best friend hadn't earned her eighth-degree black belt in taekwondo by being nice.

If Glana were the one who got mugged today, the mugger would be lucky to get away with just a couple

of broken bones.

Time flies in good company.

Kira hadn't noticed how many beers she'd knocked back until her bladder sent her a warning.

'I need to use the loo,' she said, before jumping off the barstool and sprinting towards the restroom sign.

Giana, more than a little tipsy, was singing into her cocktail glass.

It was a recently charted ballad that she insisted Kira listen to.

Caught up i

in the chorus, she did not perceive her audience of one had disappeared.

Kira stomped her feet when she saw the 'Under Maintenance' sign outside the ladies' room.

Clutching her stomach with one hand, she grabbed hold of a passing waiter. "Where's the nearest. restroom?'

The waiter pointed to a set of stairs. 'There's one on the second floor, but-

Kira darted off.

-only the VIP customers can gain access to the second floor,' the waiter finished.

But Kira was already out of earshot.

She bounded up the stairs and found herself in a quiet hallway.

The hubbub downstairs was absorbed by thick carpets on the floor and walls.

The layout here was entirely different.

Kira scurried through the labyrinthine hallways and finally found the restroom before she lost bladder control. Sitting on the toilet, she relieved herself.

'Phew."

She pulled up her pants, flushed the toilet, and swayed on her feet as soon as she stood up.

'Whoa, the room's spinning.' She had to put a hand against the partition to steady herself.

Kira waited for the dizzy spell to pass

She was about to go out of the cubicle when a voice stopped her in her tracks 'Austyn!"

An Overactive Imagination.

Austyn?

Kira wasn't sure if she'd heard it right.

Was that Kayleigh's voice?

Her hand was already on the handle, but Kira hesitated

Two seconds later, she pressed down on the handle and opened the cubicle door by a tiny crack.

Just one peek, she told herself.

She glimpsed two figures standing in front the of marble countertop fitted with sinks and mirrors.

Austyn was standing with his right side to her.

The woman was, sure enough, Kayleigh, decked out in an asymmetrical one-shoulder dress with a thigh-high slit.

Her silver hoop earrings glittered under the crisp white light.

Kira had known about Austyn and the actress, but she never thought she'd catch them in the act.

She tiptoed back to sit on the toilet with the lid down.

A random thought popped into her mind.

Was she in the ladies' room or the men's?

Surely, a man of distinction like Austyn would never deign to sneak around in the women's bathroom.

If he hadn't gone into the wrong room, then she must have.

"But I saw the sign outside,' Kira muttered under her breath. "It had a figure in a dress It's for women, right? Since when do men start wearing dresses?"

Kira felt the tiny cubicle spin a little in front of her eyes. "Uh-oh, maybe I've had a few too many."

"Austyn.. Kayleigh cooed.

The actress had a sexy, breathy voice that sounded so flirtatious and beguiling.

Kira was mesmerised.

If she were the intended audience of that rich, silky voice, she would give its owner whatever she wanted.

"You haven't been to my place for a long time. Kayleigh closed the short distance between her and Austyn. She snuggled up to his chest, thrilled when he didn't push her away.

Her hand stole towards his belt. 'Frank and his men are standing guard outside. No one will disturb us..." It was obvious what she wanted.

Kira could see the two figures cuddling each other through the crack in the door.

Just like she saw on the news the other day.

This was a live-action re-run.

Kira caught herself gawking and glanced away.

'Stop being such a

peeping Tom!' she chided herself.

She closed her eyes when she heard Kayleigh moaning

The actress' voice had turned sultry, alluring.

Like one of the sirens who tried to seduce Odysseus and his men.

Her voice was too evocative.

Images started forming in Kira's mind.

That inarticulate hum could be Austyn pressing his lips on those of Kayleigh.

That soft purr could be him running his big, powerful hands over her back.

That slight catch in her throat could be him nibbling her earlobe.

Kira covered her ears with both hands and shook her head, trying to chase away the erotic pictures.

Why

must she be cursed with such a vivid imagination?

She breathed through her nose, afraid of making any sound that might startle the lovebirds.

Knowing Austyn, and the man's stamina, and his insatiable appetite, Kira was growing concerned she might be stuck in the cubicle all night.

Oh no.

Kira didn't want to spend a night trapped in a small, stuffy toilet cubicle.

There was no bed out there.

Would they have to do it standing up?

Or would he lift his paramour up on the countertop, like that night in the study...

Kira shook her head again and patted her burning cheeks. 'Get your mind out of the gutter!"

The scene less than a metre away from Kira was heating up.

Kayleigh was squatting now, looking up at Austyn under her long, thick eyelashes.

She didn't speak, but the message was loud and clear,

No sane man with a normal libido could resist a temptation like that, especially when it came from such a drop-dead gorgeous woman.

Kayleigh Woods made her acting debut as a wide-eyed ingénue.

The way she was licking her lips and batting those bedroom eyes was a far cry from her onscreen image.

Kira forced herself to look away from the crack.

Her brain addled by alcohol, she couldn't form a coherent thought at the moment.

Kayleigh's voice continued to swirl around her ears.

For some reason, Kira no longer found the actress' voice to be so appealing.

In fact, it was starting to grate on her nerves.

Kira was nauseated.

She covered her ears again..

But, alas, she didn't have the beeswax Odysseus prepared for his men.

Outside the cubicle, Austyn remained standing.

Unlike in Kira's overactive imagination, his hands were thrust in his pants pockets, not all over Kayleigh.

The man just cast his impassive gaze down at the actress, who was still squatting in front of him.

Her eyes were made bigger and rounder with mascara, eyeliner and false lashes.

She had almond-shaped eyes, but the makeup gave her an almost cat-like look.

From his vantage point, he could easily see her deep cleavage.

Kayleigh was less than a finger's length from him.

But it was Kira's face that rushed into his mind.

Her youthful, unadorned face.

The way she puffed out her cheeks when she was mad but dared not voice an objection.

The way she offered a radiant smile and called his name in a honeyed voice when trying to butter him up.

The way her eyes sparkled when she laughed.

The way she blushed and looked away when he took off his clothes and then hers.

The way she bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from crying out in the throes of passion.

They'd been sleeping together for a year, but she always remained so bashful in the bedroom.

It would be hard, nay, impossible to imagine her being as forward as Kayleigh.

But if she were to try..

Austyn pictured Kira coming to him, all doe-eyed and blushing.

She reached out a trembling hand for his zipper, and started undoing it....

Austyn felt himself getting hard.

He had watched Kayleigh seduce him with the enthusiasm of a marble statue.

But just the thought of Kira doing the same to him turned him on faster than he could say Jack Robinson.

Kayleigh mistook his reaction for a sign of her success.

She reached for his zipper. 'Austyn...

Before she could touch him, she felt a vice-like grip on her wrist.

'Get up!'

Austyn's cold voice reverberated in the tiled bathroom.

Flustered and feeling pain in her wrist, Kayleigh stammered, "Wh-what?"

"You heard me."

The emotionless look on his face was replaced with a scowl, 'Get up. Don't make me repeat myself for the third time."

Shaken up, Kayleigh grabbed the edge of a sink and got on her feet mechanically.

She couldn't believe she'd failed!

'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey..."

The abrupt ringtone shattered the silence in the restroom.

Kayleigh instinctively ducked behind Austyn. "Paparazzi?"

the

Austyn turned his impatient, irritated gaze towards the door of the cubicle, the source of the offending ringtone. 'Come out!"

Oh shit!

Kira fumbled in her pants pocket for her phone.

Why must it ring at such an unfortunate time?

She pressed the side button to silence the call without checking who it was.

Phew!

The next second, the cubicle door banged open.

Kira jumped, looking up in a panic.

Her eyes met Austyn's, dark and smouldering.

The air froze.

Awkward

Kira stood up from the toilet seat, smoothed her hair, cleared her throat and offered a toothy grin. 'Good evening.

It was a rare moment to see the president of the M Group gawking.

Astonishment took the place of fury in his eyes.

What the hell was Kira doing here?

All Kinds Of Awkward

Kayleigh stared at Kira, eyes wide open.

'What is she doing here?" she thought. 'Did she follow Austyn?"

Kayleigh had kept her meeting with Kira a secret.

Austyn didn't know.

And Kayleigh wanted things to stay that way.

She'd have to act like Kira was a complete stranger to her.

It should be easy.

She was a professional actress, after all.

She knew how much Austyn hated people going behind his back.

Kira caught a glimpse of Kayleigh, whose body was mostly shielded by Austyn.

The actress looked elegant as ever, but her immaculately made-up face was marred by her expression.